Explained: How shortage in Malaysia proved eggcellent news for India

An egg shortage in Malaysia is proving to be a boon for India.

Indian egg exports have touched a record 50 million aided by sales to Malaysia, which has seen a shortage of eggs in recent months.

But why is Malaysia facing an egg shortage? And how is India benefitting?

Let’s take a closer look:

Malaysia’s egg shortage

Malaysian officials told Reuters small-scale farmers are reducing output due to increasing feed prices caused by the Ukraine war.

The outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has also curtailed supplies of eggs and chicken in many countries around the globe, pressuring already high food prices and triggering trade restrictions from countries that import poultry, as per Reuters.

As per CNA, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in December announced it would import eggs from India and other countries to keep up with domestic supply.

That declaration came after local media reports about customers and traders in the states of Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Selangor, and Melaka facing trouble getting eggs.

Sabu at the time said the eggs would be imported on a trial basis and be tested for Salmonella bacteria, the Newcastle disease virus, and avian influenza, as per News Straits Times.

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Malaysia faced a shortage of 157 million eggs in November and 118 million eggs in October, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu was quoted as saying by CNA.

“I reported for duty at MAFS (Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security) on Dec 5. After getting a briefing on the latest situation in egg supply, the top management of MAFS and I met several major egg producers to seek the best ways to restore supply,” Sabu said.

“The data I obtained from the Veterinary Services Department showed a critical shortage of eggs in October and November 2022. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), now the supply of chicken and eggs is beginning to recover and will be stable again soon,” Sabu was quoted as saying by the outlet.

The website FreeMalaysiaToday quoted Sabu as calling this a ‘commendable achievement’.

Sabu said the Malaysian government could not ban exports of eggs because local producers were ‘very dependent on such income to offset losses in the domestic markets due to price controls, as per FreeMalaysiaToday.

Sabu said the ministry held talks with a slew of departments including domestic trade and finance and also recommended offering targeted subsidies.

Malaysia’s egg production would recover in a few months as the government has increased a subsidy, said Tan Chee Hee, president of the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Association of Malaysia, told Reuters.

How is India benefitting?

In December, the ministry approached the Indian Embassy at Kuala Lumpur over the shortage, as per Hindu Business Line.

“As chicken and eggs are part of their staple food, it is considered as a serious food security issue by the Malaysian Government,” the Financial Express quoted an official note as saying.

Around 90,000 eggs were then airlifted from Tiruchirapalli airport to Malaysia on a single night in December, as per Hindu Business Line.

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) expedited the certification process and facilitated ‘first ever trial shipment of eggs’ from Namakkal to Malaysia, as per the newspaper.

The newspaper quoted APEDA regional head Shobana Kumar as saying at the time that exports are expected to continue once the trial shipment is approved and accepted by Malaysians.

And did it ever.

According to the Financial Express, Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal alone sent five million eggs to Malaysia in December.

India is further likely to send 20 million in eggs in January and February to Malaysia.

As per Reuters, Sabu earlier this month visited Namakkal, where several leading hatcheries are based to secure egg supplies as prices rose to record highs.

“For the first time, Malaysia is buying large quantities of eggs from India, and it seems that India’s egg exports to Malaysia will remain strong during the first half of 2023,” Sasti Kumar, joint managing director at Namakkal-based Ponni Farms, one of India’s leading egg exporters, told Reuters.

All India Poultry Products Exporters Association secretary Valsan Parameswaran, Secretary told the newspaper Namakkal sends 1.5 million eggs every day to Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

Parameswaran told the newspaper the eggs were sent through Chennai port – though India traditionally sends consignments through Tuticorin port.

“Opening up egg exports to Malaysia would give us market access to south-east Asia,” Parameswaran added.

APEDA chairman M Angamuthu was quoted by Financial Express as saying, “With the commencement of shipments of eggs to Malaysia, opportunities to expand shipment of eggs would expand across other south-east Asian countries including Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines.”

Meanwhile, amid concerns over food price inflation in India, egg prices are at Rs 565 per 100 eggs – an increase of nearly a quarter over a year ago.

Prasanna Pedgaonkar, general manager of poultry-focused Venky’s, told Reuters exports are rising amid robust local consumption during the winter months.

Pedgaonkar said, domestic supplies have fallen by around a tenth as small-scale Indian farmers, like their counterparts in Malaysia, have curtailed production after incurring losses in the past two years due to the high price of feed and the impact of the pandemic.

India’s domestic prices could eventually make exporting eggs less profitable, in which case foreign buyers will have to look elsewhere, said C Panneerselvam, an exporter also based in Namakkal who sold one million eggs to Malaysia last month.

But for the time being, demand is not abating.

Countries such as Singapore and Sri Lanka could be next in line to buy from India in coming months, said Kumar of Ponni Farms.

With inputs from agencies

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